He said more than half of the registered patients are children between the ages 7 and 14.

Meanwhile, the director of the Russian Influenza Research Institute, Oleg Kiselev, stated earlier this week that the actual number of swine-flu patients in Russia is much higher than the official figures.

Authorities in Russia's Baikal region in southern Siberia announced on October 23 a decision to suspend the current fall military draft due to the swine-flu outbreak.